dream build play

You gotta hand it to developers: sometimes they can sum of their games better than we ever could with clever puns and snarky comments. Defrost Games desribes their upcoming space-time mash-up as “Portal meets Braid on crack, with avatars,” and, well, that’s exactly what it looks like. Set in the year 2057, Project Temporality takes place on a spaceship where a bunch of scientists are shipped to Jupiter under the ruse of astronomical studies, only to discover that they are actually going to work on spacetime-warping experiments.

What does that mean exactly? It looks like we can expect plenty of button puzzles combined with the ability to make copies of your Avatar in different points in time, sort of like some of the later levels in Braid. With its lofty aspirations and gorgeous environments, it’s easy to see why Project Temporality was a Dream.Build.Play semifinalist.

Isn’t it nice when the judges get it right? Microsoft announced the top winners in the Dream.Build.Play 2o11 Challenge, and the fantastic platformer, Blocks That Matter, ran away with the the Grand Prize. It was selected from a pool of more than 250 entrants developed from 27 countries using Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio 4.0, and developer Swing Swing Submarine will net $40,000 for their efforts. We can’t say we’re shocked since we fell in love with the Tetrobot’s adventure earlier this year.

Guillaume Martin, co-creator of Blocks That Matter, said “With the money, we will try to make the studio live and we don’t want to change our plan, which is make another game BTM sized (4/5 month of dev), put it on XBLIG and PCs (digital platforms depending on who’s interested), and try to sell it.” Martin said he wasn’t sure how to approach the XBLA slot, and said perhaps they’ll port BTM to XBLA with Achievements and a Community section or perhaps save it for Blocks That Matter 2.

Jay Watt’s cosmological sandbox-game, Solar 2, won the $20,000 First Prize. Watts said he’s use the money to “find a better apartment, and use it to live off making games.”

TIC: Part 1 and Sequence round out the top winners, earning $10,000 and $5,000 for their developers.

Three other games won honorable mentions in specific categories. The accolades may not come with a cash prize, but we’re sure the developers will enjoy the little ego boost.

Major Nelson annouced the 20 21 Dream.Build.Play finalists that are vying for the grand prize of $40,000 during the most recent episode of Major’s Minute. The winner of the fat load of cash (and potential XBLA publishing deal) will be revealed next week at PAX Prime. We reached out to a Microsoft representative to find out why the list contains 21 games instead of the previously announced 20. The full list of games, as well as a video of Major Nelson making the announcement are below. We will get our grubby hands on the finalists next week from the floor of PAX Prime.

The top 20 entries of 2011’s Dream.Build.Play competition will be announced on an episode of Major Nelson’s Minute, which premieres on August 18 on the Xbox Live Dashboard. Just a week later, during this year’s PAX Prime, (August 26 through August 28) Microsoft will be announcing the 5 prize winners, who will be sharing the $75,000 bounty and a chance at an XBLA publishing deal.

While only 5 games get to take home the winnings, all 20 games will be playable on the show floor of PAX, with several of the developers in attendance. As any XNA developer can attest, having a game playable at a show that attracts tens of thousands of attendees isn’t such a bad prize either.

Yankees vs. Red Sox. Vampires vs. werewolves. Red wine vs. carpets. These rivalries have defined our generation that has been oh-so marred by conflict. They’re but petty scuffles compared to the rancorous rivalry found in Dragons Vs. Spaceships. Metal monstrosities from a far away world have come to challenge The Dragons’ dominion over all things airborne; pushed to the brink of extinction, it’s up to you to help the four most badass dragons and fight back in Dragons Vs. Spaceships, a new Xbox Live Indie Game landing this August.

This Dream.Build.Play and Summer Uprising entrant was developed by Game Production Studios, and besides it’s outrageous story, it also features a weapon system that sounds reminiscent of Gunstar Heroes. Each dragon has 2 slots in which it can equip one of three elements: fire, water or metal. The first slot is the primary attack, and it can be leveled up with power-ups. It also combines with the element in the second slot to create one of six different special attacks. Two players will be able to defend the land of Dragonia this August.

Dream Build Play may be the big name in contests right now, but that doesn’t mean it has to be the only thing on your mind. The Indie Game Challenge is accepting submissions for their annual contest, the winners of which will be decided in February 2012. For those unfamiliar with the contest, it was started three years ago by The Guildhall at SMU and The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences in conjunction with GameStop. It’s main focus is to foster innovative game development and to dish out some pretty awesome prizes to the victors of the contest, which include a $100,000 grand prize, a chance to meet publishers directly, as well as scholarships for students. It’s also important to note that finalists in each category will get flown to the D.I.C.E. summit, a nearly unparalleled opportunity for industry exposure.

All you’ll need to enter is $100, a playable beta that can run on a PC and a 60 second-or-less explanation of why your game deserves to be recognized. But let it be known that the competition is quite stiff. Last year’s top winner was 2D Boy Playdead with their dark puzzler, Limbo. The deadline to enter is October 3.

All the details can be found on the contest’s webpage. You can also check out the past winners and runner ups, the nitty gritty on the prizes, and the if ands or buts about the official rules. As always, check back to Armless Octopus for continued coverage on this contest as well as the aforementioned Dream Build Play.

Alright, XBLIG devs. It’s time to register for Microsoft’s 2011 Dream.Build.Play competition if you haven’t already. Registration closes on May 17, and there’s no looking back after that.

And if you’re way ahead of the game, you can submit your entry as early as the same day registration closes. But don’t wait too long. The submission deadline is June 14.

Here’s a quick refresher on the prizes: four winners will walk away with a share of $75,000, with $40,000 to the grand prize winner, $20,000 to first place, $10,000 to second, and $5,000 to third. There will also be an opportunity to get published on Xbox Live Arcade.

With the Dream.Build.Play registration deadline looming, the XNA Game Studio Team has organized a Twitter developer chat on May 11 from 5-5:30 p.m. PST to answer any questions about the contest and get the creative juices flowing. Join the community conversation by posting on Twitter with the hashtag #devchat. Questions and conversations can range from technical issues to far more important inquiries such as ‘which color fedora looks better on my nefarious cybernetic turtle?’

Remember, the Dream.Build.Play registration deadline is May 17, so you better put on another pot of coffee if you want to take a shot at that $40,000 grand prize.